The Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rebounded in the first quarter, riding on solid export and facility investment.

The seasonally-adjusted real GDP reached 395.93 trillion won (US$366.9 billion) according to the Bank of Korea in the January-March quarter, up 1.1% from the previous period.

If the current growth trend continues, Korea's economic growth is expected to meet the BOK's growth outlook of 3% in 2018, though uncertainties remain during the rest of this year, a senior official with the BOK said at a press briefing.

BOK said exports as measured by volume in GDP increased 4.4% during the most recent quarter from the previous three-month period, when it fell 5.3%. Infrastructure investment also increased 5.2% from a quarter earlier, while investment in housing was up 2.8% during the period Samsung Electronics was part of the reason helping the country's overall exports go up as Samsung, the world' top supplier in memory chips, reported an all-time high operating profit during the first quarter powered by better-than-expected memory chip sales.